With so-called asymmetrical threat situations, in which enemy persons disguise themselves as civilians and operate out of this civilian disguise, it is difficult to combat enemy persons from a distance unrecognized without thereby causing greater collateral damage.
The use of civilian motor vehicles by the enemy persons makes identification and combating enemy persons difficult. If these enemy persons are combated in a targeted manner from a close vicinity, for example, by means of firearms from one's own task forces, these task forces are exposed by the use of firearms and the consequences resulting therefrom. In particular in the case of operations in enemy territory, this type of direct combating of the enemy persons is therefore typically avoided.
It would be advantageous if the enemy persons could be combated by means of so-called drones, that is, unmanned missiles or aircraft. To this end it is necessary for the drone to clearly identify the vehicle in which the enemy person is traveling. However, this identification often cannot be clearly carried out by the drone, since other vehicles of the same model with the same exterior color may be traveling in the area in which the target person is located.
It is conceivable to carry out an automatic identification by image capture devices of the drone based on the vehicle license plate of the vehicle used by the target person, if this registration is known. However, the angle of incidence and angle of view of the drone is often not suitable for being able to reliably capture and recognize the vehicle license plate.